Skip to main content
My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

THE FUNNY THING ABOUT A PANIC ATTACK Makes Edinburgh Festival Fringe Debut

Performances run August 2-25.

By:
Featured Topic Edinburgh Festival More Coverage THE FUNNY THING ABOUT A PANIC ATTACK Makes Edinburgh Festival Fringe Debut

Author, poet, and dancer Ben Kassoy will bring poems from his spectacularly original book of the same name to life in The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack, a genre-defying solo show.

Making its international debut at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack is bursting with humor, heart, and defiant wonder in the face of anxiety, using spoken word, dance, and physical theatre to reveal the connections between panic, poetry...and pancakes.

Coming off a sold-out preview in New York and earning at nomination for the NAMBA Splash Award for Excellence in Cultural Performance Arts at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack opens a timely, courageous conversation about mental health, stigma, masculinity, and family, delving into the writer's journey with anxiety. While the story is personal, it's also widely relatable, inviting audiences to explore how all of us can find strength, healing, and a path forward after trauma.

Performance Details:

  • ZOO Playground (Playground 3)

  • Aug 2-4, 6-11, 13-18, 20-25

  • 17:10 (45 minutes)

  • Content Warning // Discussion and depictions of mental health crisis, mentions of suicide and self-harm.

  • Buy tickets HERE

About Ben Kassoy

Ben Kassoy (he/him) is an award-winning writer. He is the coauthor of nine books, including the poetry collection The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack (Bottlecap Press, 2023). Ben's poetry appears in Ghost City Review, JMWW, Defunct Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Cobra Milk, Bodega, Sky Island Journal, Human Parts, and others. He has also written for the websites of Elle, GQ, Teen Vogue, Glamour, Details, Women's Health, AskMen, Bustle, Elite Daily, Well+Good, Brooklyn Magazine, and others. Read more at www.benkassoy.com.

About The Team

The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack is directed by Joanna Simmons, director of Mark Vigeant's Make Pleases You, which won the Hollywood Producers' Encore Award at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival, and Best Man Show (2024 Hollywood Fringe Best Comedy). The show was choreographed by Emory University Professor of Dance Julio Medina and features music from Matt Lipkins of The Shadowboxers, which toured with Justin Timberlake and The Indigo Girls, and have been featured in TIME, Billboard, and many others.

Click Here to Get Tickets
More on Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Upcoming Shows
Anti-Fascist Pasta Night
5/16 - 8/30/2026
One Hour Wedding
8/1 - 8/31/2026
Recent Articles
HERE COMES ALMOST To Play Edinburgh Fringe
HERE COMES ALMOST To Play Edinburgh Fringe
8/8/2026
EDINBURGH 2026: BroadwayWorld's Edfringe Reviews
EDINBURGH 2026: BroadwayWorld's Edfringe Reviews
8/8/2026
Need more Scotland Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...

Local Shows
Antigone 1989: A Town Hall Musical in Scotland Antigone 1989: A Town Hall Musical
Gilded Balloon Patter House (8/05-8/29) PHOTOS VIDEOS
Elvis in Chaos in Scotland Elvis in Chaos
Lime Studio at Greenside @ George Street (8/07-8/15) VIDEOS
Argonauts in Scotland Argonauts
ZOO (Playground 2) (8/07-8/30)
Friendliest in Scotland Friendliest
Gilded Balloon (The Nook) (8/08-8/31)
They’re Just Small Town (Northern) Lads in Scotland They’re Just Small Town (Northern) Lads
Summerhall (8/06-8/16)
A STAN IS BORN! – Encore  in Scotland A STAN IS BORN! – Encore
Gilded Balloon Patter House (8/06-8/16)
The Last Mad Man in Scotland The Last Mad Man
Assembly, Roxy (8/05-8/30)
Tap Out! (Or I'll Hit You Again) in Scotland Tap Out! (Or I'll Hit You Again)
Gilded Balloon Patter House – Coorie (8/05-8/31)
Patient 13 in Scotland Patient 13
Zoo (Playground 2) (8/07-8/30) VIDEOS
Concerts of the Future in Scotland Concerts of the Future
Summerhall (Lobby) (8/06-8/30)

BroadwayWorld TV